Phil Collins to Be Honored at Spinal Cord Injury Benefit Dinner

Sports stars will rub elbows on October 6, when Phil Collins and Gloria Estefan will be among the honorees at a New York City benefit dinner to raise money for paralysis and spinal cord injury research.

At the 30th Annual Great Sports Legends Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, Collins and his former wife, Orianne, will be presented with the Humanitarian Award for their ongoing charitable work, including through the Little Dreams Foundation, an international charity they established that helps aspiring young talents without financial means achieve their goals.

Meanwhile, Estefan and her husband, Emilio, will receive the Buoniconti Fund Inspiration Award on behalf of The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, which raises money to support The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at Florida’s University of Miami. The Estefans have been involved with the Project since Gloria broke her back in a 1994 tour bus accident.

No word whether Collins and Estefan will perform at the event, but the entertainment lineup does include The Beach Boys and The Pointer Sisters. Sports stars who’ll be at the fundraiser include Olympic champion figure skater Michelle Kwan, former tennis pro Jennifer Capriati, NBA Hall of Famer Karl Malone and former New York Yankees catcher Jorge Posada, among others.

The Buoniconti Fund was created by NFL Hall of Famer Nick Buoniconti and his son, Marc, the latter of whom became a quadriplegic in 1985 when his spinal cord was injured while playing college football.